Are We Finally Getting a Movie with Donald Glover as Spider-Man?

On Wednesday, Sony Pictures took to the World Wide Web to announce a new slinger in town. Miles Morales—a popular Spider-Man alter-ego from the comics, not to be confused with Peter Parker—is getting an animated film of his own. While there’s no casting announced yet, the creative team behind the project means a long-simmering fan wish could finally come to fruition. Will we see Donald Glover slip into that famous red-and-black suit for a movie at long last? He may! Here’s why.

Phil Lord and Chris Miller—the busiest working duo in show business—are not only taking on this animated Miles Morales film. They’re also directing the upcoming Han Solo Star Wars spin-off movie starring, you guessed it, Donald Glover as young Lando Calrissian. And though film fans may not know it, Glover already voices Morales on Disney XD’s Ultimate Spider-Man cartoon. Glover also appears in a mystery role in the upcoming Spider-Man: Homecoming. Blink, and you might have missed him in the latest trailer.

Odds are that Glover—whose star is on a rapid rise, thanks to the critical success of and double Golden Globe wins for his FX series, Atlanta—will not be playing Morales in Homecoming. Morales is a half-black, half-Latino kid, and at 33, Glover’s days of playing a live-action teenager may be over. But when it comes to age-appropriate casting, the medium of animation covers a multitude of sins—and though he’s in his 30s, Glover is still capable of child-like vocal exuberance. (See: his role in The Martian.) Most fans guess Glover is playing a Homecoming villain thanks to the trailer shot of him standing next to rumored bad guy Logan Marshall Green and a very deadly looking weapon.

If Glover lands the lead in this new Spider-Man film (and there really seem to be too many connective ties for him not to), it will be the culmination of a 2010 fan campaign to get the then Community star the part that ultimately went to Andrew Garfield in The Amazing Spider-Man. At the time, Glover leaned into the fan movement and, in his 2012 stand-up special Weirdo, he talked about his desire to play Spidey: “I put it up on my Twitter, and I was like, ‘Oh, #DonaldForSpiderman, let’s do this.’ Kind of as a joke, but also like, who doesn’t want to be Spider-Man? That’d be cool. That’s when the world went crazy. And half the world was like ‘#DonaldForSpiderman! We’re only going to watch the next Spider-Man if Donald Glover is playing Peter Parker!’ And the other half was like, ‘He’s black, kill him!’”

Donald Glover — Atlanta (2017)

Photo: By the conventional wisdom, it should have been newcomer and HBO auteur Issa Rae joining the ranks of bright young female stars who have gotten their start at the Golden Globes. And we’d be tempted to slot The Crown star and freshly-minted winner Claire Foy in here, but her last big project, Wolf Hall, was a Globes winner in 2016 so she’s hardly a stranger to the HFPA. So it’s up to Atlanta creator and star, Donald Glover, to carry the 2017 banner for the fresh faces at the Golden Globes. Sure, Glover did his time on the excellent (though HFPA-overlooked) Community, but with a series win for Atlanta on top of Glover’s Best Actor win, this is really his coming out as a creative TV force in his own right.

Rachel Bloom — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2016)

“What we do have is great faith in the show, great faith in the showrunners and the creators, Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom. We believe in the show. We stand by the show,” CW chief Mark Pedowitz said just hours before Bloom walked away with the award for Best Leading Actress in a comedy. Pedowitz got an enthusiastic shout out from Bloom as she grasped her award and took home the CW’s second consecutive actress win in a row. “We believe there is a place on our schedule today for a show like this and we’re going to give it a chance to get seen. You can’t beat quality like this,” Pedowitz said. With a Golden Globe in her pocket, odds are Bloom just got an even better chance at a second season.

Claire Danes — My So-Called Life (1995)

Danes was just 15 years old when she won for the cult-favorite drama My So-Called Life, beating out vets like Kathy Baker (Picket Fences), Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote), Heather Locklear (Melrose Place), and Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). Despite low ratings, My So-Called Life was a huge critical success, and Danes, in particular, was singled out for her emotional portrayal of Angela Chase. But Danes’s rising star combined with low ratings eventually spelled doom for My So-Called Life. Danes would return to the Globes several times, though, winning once for the TV movie Temple Grandin and twice for her work on Homeland.

Angelina Jolie — George Wallace (1998)

A 22-year-old Jolie collected her first piece of awards-season hardware for playing Cornelia Wallace opposite Gary Sinise in the pretty much forgotten TNT TV movie George Wallace. Newcomer Jolie beat out Joely Fisher (Ellen), Della Reese (Touched by an Angel), Gloria Reuben (ER), and her George Wallace co-star Mare Winningham. Jolie’s acting family legacy may have had something to do with her success—look no further than the ceremony’s Mr/Miss Golden Globe tradition to see the H.F.P.A.’s fascination with Hollywood royalty—but it was a canny, forward-looking choice nonetheless. The Globes would honor Jolie again in 1999 for the TV movie Gia and help seal the deal for her Oscar win in 2000 by awarding her for Girl, Interrupted. Jolie has been nominated three more times since, for A Mighty Heart, Changeling, and The Tourist.

Lena Dunham — Girls (2013)

Riding a wave of new-kid-on-the-block buzz, Girls creator and star Lena Dunham beat out that long-running TV-comedy trifecta of Tina Fey (30 Rock), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) and well as fellow TV newcomer Zooey Deschanel (New Girl). Poehler—who was also hosting that year—accepted her defeat gracefully from George Clooney’s lap. Not a bad consolation prize. “I thought I was going to be a cooler customer if this ever happened, which I didn’t think it would,” a flustered Dunham said from the stage. She went on to thank her fellow nominees for getting her through “middle school” and “mono.” “Congratulations, Lena,” Fey and Poehler later joked from the stage, ”I’m glad we got you through middle school!” When Fey won a SAG Award later that month she added, “I’ve known [Amy] since [she] was pregnant with Lena Dunham.” Girls also won for best comedy in 2013, and Dunham would be nominated two more times for playing Hannah Horvath.

Calista Flockhart — Ally McBeal (1998)

With little more than The Birdcage as a credit to her name, Calista Flockhart, with her short-skirted power suits and C.G.I. baby, danced her way into the pop-culture zeitgeist with Ally McBeal. Flockhart beat out Kirstie Alley (Veronica’s Closet), Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen), Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg) Helen Hunt (Mad About You), and Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan). Something tells me Hunt—who took home both a different Golden Globe and the Oscar that year for As Good as It Gets—was O.K. with losing this one. Flockhart called her win a “staggering surprise” but would go on to be nominated for Ally McBeal four more years in a row.

Gina Rodriguez — Jane the Virgin (2015)

Like Keri Russell before her, Gina Rodriguez is the only one to bring home a Golden Globe (so far!) for her network, the CW. Rodriguez beat out Lena Dunham (Girls), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and Taylor Schilling (Orange Is the New Black), and gave an impassioned, tearful speech saying, “This award is so much more than myself, it represents a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes.” Rodriguez was nominated again in 2016 for her work on Jane the Virgin but lost out to fellow CW star and even newer TV talent, Rachel Bloom of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.

Donald Glover — Atlanta (2017)

By the conventional wisdom, it should have been newcomer and HBO auteur Issa Rae joining the ranks of bright young female stars who have gotten their start at the Golden Globes. And we’d be tempted to slot The Crown star and freshly-minted winner Claire Foy in here, but her last big project, Wolf Hall, was a Globes winner in 2016 so she’s hardly a stranger to the HFPA. So it’s up to Atlanta creator and star, Donald Glover, to carry the 2017 banner for the fresh faces at the Golden Globes. Sure, Glover did his time on the excellent (though HFPA-overlooked) Community, but with a series win for Atlanta on top of Glover’s Best Actor win, this is really his coming out as a creative TV force in his own right.

Rachel Bloom — Crazy Ex-Girlfriend (2016)

“What we do have is great faith in the show, great faith in the showrunners and the creators, Aline Brosh McKenna and Rachel Bloom. We believe in the show. We stand by the show,” CW chief Mark Pedowitz said just hours before Bloom walked away with the award for Best Leading Actress in a comedy. Pedowitz got an enthusiastic shout out from Bloom as she grasped her award and took home the CW’s second consecutive actress win in a row. “We believe there is a place on our schedule today for a show like this and we’re going to give it a chance to get seen. You can’t beat quality like this,” Pedowitz said. With a Golden Globe in her pocket, odds are Bloom just got an even better chance at a second season.

Claire Danes — My So-Called Life (1995)

Danes was just 15 years old when she won for the cult-favorite drama My So-Called Life, beating out vets like Kathy Baker (Picket Fences), Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote), Heather Locklear (Melrose Place), and Jane Seymour (Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman). Despite low ratings, My So-Called Life was a huge critical success, and Danes, in particular, was singled out for her emotional portrayal of Angela Chase. But Danes’s rising star combined with low ratings eventually spelled doom for My So-Called Life. Danes would return to the Globes several times, though, winning once for the TV movie Temple Grandin and twice for her work on Homeland.

Angelina Jolie — George Wallace (1998)

A 22-year-old Jolie collected her first piece of awards-season hardware for playing Cornelia Wallace opposite Gary Sinise in the pretty much forgotten TNT TV movie George Wallace. Newcomer Jolie beat out Joely Fisher (Ellen), Della Reese (Touched by an Angel), Gloria Reuben (ER), and her George Wallace co-star Mare Winningham. Jolie’s acting family legacy may have had something to do with her success—look no further than the ceremony’s Mr/Miss Golden Globe tradition to see the H.F.P.A.’s fascination with Hollywood royalty—but it was a canny, forward-looking choice nonetheless. The Globes would honor Jolie again in 1999 for the TV movie Gia and help seal the deal for her Oscar win in 2000 by awarding her for Girl, Interrupted. Jolie has been nominated three more times since, for A Mighty Heart, Changeling, and The Tourist.

America Ferrera — Ugly Betty (2007)

Twenty-two-year-old Ferrera had already been on the scene a little while before landing the starring role in Ugly Betty. But even with the likes of Real Women Have Curves, How the Garcia Girls Spent Their Summer, and The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants under her belt, Ferrera was still singled out by presenters John Stamos and Jennifer Love-Hewitt as the “newcomer” in a category that included Marcia Cross (Desperate Housewives), Felicity Huffman (Desperate Housewives), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (The New Adventures of Old Christine), and Mary-Louise Parker (Weeds). No one seemed more surprised by the win than Ferrera herself, who cried through her acceptance speech, causing a few of the luminaries in the audience to tear up themselves. Ferrara would be nominated two more times for her charming portrayal of Betty Suarez.

Keri Russell — Felicity (1999)

Before she was a TV critical darling for her dark work in The Americans, 22-year-old Russell won for her first season on the WB college-set drama Felicity, beating out Gillian Anderson (The X-Files), Kim Delaney (NYPD Blue), Roma Downey (Touched by an Angel), and Golden Globe favorite Julianna Margulies (ER). The actress was only a few years out of her Mickey Mouse Club days and had only some scattered guest-starring credits and one failed teen soap—Malibu Shores—to her name. Russell’s win would be the only time the WB network ever landed a Globe, and Russell herself has yet to be nominated again. The actress’s acceptance speech is a fantastic time capsule of future talent; she thanks fellow newcomers J.J. Abrams and Matt Reeves for creating the series. Both would go on to cast Russell in future projects—Mission: Impossible III and Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, respectively—and the actress continues to have huge TV success even though she’s ditched those trademark curls.

Jennifer Garner — Alias (2002)

J.J. Abrams struck Globe gold again when he created Alias, starring frequent Felicity guest star Jennifer Garner. The actress had been bumping around a few TV series that failed to get off the ground before she landed the role of Sydney Bristow. Winning for her very first season, Garner beat out an unusually crowded category of veteran actresses like Lorraine Bracco (The Sopranos), Amy Brenneman (Judging Amy), Edie Falco (The Sopranos), Lauren Graham (Gilmore Girls) Marg Helgenberger (CSI), and Sela Ward (Once and Again). “I think the best part about this year,” an overcome Garner said in her acceptance speech, ”is that there are so many amazing roles for women on television that you had to have seven nominees.” As her co-star Bradley Cooper cheered for her, Garner went on to address Abrams saying she didn’t know why he cast her. “I know I was good in Dude, Where’s My Car? but seriously!?” Garner would be nominated three more times for playing Bristow.

Lena Dunham — Girls (2013)

Riding a wave of new-kid-on-the-block buzz, Girls creator and star Lena Dunham beat out that long-running TV-comedy trifecta of Tina Fey (30 Rock), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and Amy Poehler (Parks and Recreation) and well as fellow TV newcomer Zooey Deschanel (New Girl). Poehler—who was also hosting that year—accepted her defeat gracefully from George Clooney’s lap. Not a bad consolation prize. “I thought I was going to be a cooler customer if this ever happened, which I didn’t think it would,” a flustered Dunham said from the stage. She went on to thank her fellow nominees for getting her through “middle school” and “mono.” “Congratulations, Lena,” Fey and Poehler later joked from the stage, ”I’m glad we got you through middle school!” When Fey won a SAG Award later that month she added, “I’ve known [Amy] since [she] was pregnant with Lena Dunham.” Girls also won for best comedy in 2013, and Dunham would be nominated two more times for playing Hannah Horvath.

Calista Flockhart — Ally McBeal (1998)

With little more than The Birdcage as a credit to her name, Calista Flockhart, with her short-skirted power suits and C.G.I. baby, danced her way into the pop-culture zeitgeist with Ally McBeal. Flockhart beat out Kirstie Alley (Veronica’s Closet), Ellen DeGeneres (Ellen), Jenna Elfman (Dharma & Greg) Helen Hunt (Mad About You), and Brooke Shields (Suddenly Susan). Something tells me Hunt—who took home both a different Golden Globe and the Oscar that year for As Good as It Gets—was O.K. with losing this one. Flockhart called her win a “staggering surprise” but would go on to be nominated for Ally McBeal four more years in a row.

Gina Rodriguez — Jane the Virgin (2015)

Like Keri Russell before her, Gina Rodriguez is the only one to bring home a Golden Globe (so far!) for her network, the CW. Rodriguez beat out Lena Dunham (Girls), Edie Falco (Nurse Jackie), Julia Louis-Dreyfus (Veep), and Taylor Schilling (Orange Is the New Black), and gave an impassioned, tearful speech saying, “This award is so much more than myself, it represents a culture that wants to see themselves as heroes.” Rodriguez was nominated again in 2016 for her work on Jane the Virgin but lost out to fellow CW star and even newer TV talent, Rachel Bloom of Crazy Ex-Girlfriend.